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Lamborghini Diablo VT - the sports car benchmark of the nineties

Name: Lamborghini Diablo 1990
Brand: Lamborghini

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Created on May 28, 2012

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Balz Schreier

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Lamborghini

Bonhams

Artcurial

Antoine Dellenbach

- Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Archiv

Balz Schreier

Bruno von Rotz

Archiv Lamborghini

Bonhams

Artcurial

Antoine Dellenbach

- Courtesy RM Sotheby's

Archiv

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Lamborghini Diablo VT (1995) - the designer left his signature on the flank

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - the original model, without spoiler, as designed by Marcello Gandini

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - the new sports car designed by Marcello Gandini at the presentation - press photo

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - Silhouette - Press photo

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - See-through drawing

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - drawings from the press documents

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Lamborghini Diablo (1990) - how it was presented - View of the interior

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Lamborghini Diablo VT (1993) - externally identical to the two-wheel drive version

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Lamborghini Diablo VT (1993) - Interior of the four-wheel drive version

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Lamborghini Diablo SE (1994) - special model for the 30th anniversary

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Lamborghini Diablo SE (1994) - special model for the thirtieth anniversary

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Lamborghini Diablo Iota (1995) - winged variant reminiscent of the famous Miura Iota

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Lamborghini Diablo Roadster (1996) - the open-top version

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Lamborghini Diablo SV (1996) - View from above

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Lamborghini Diablo SV (1996) - Silhouette

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Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 (2001) - the fold-out lamps are a thing of the past

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Lamborghini Diablo 6.0 (2001) - Interior

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Impressions of Chantilly Arts & Elégance 2016 - Colorful Lamborghini Diablo

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Lamborghini Diablo Roadster VT 5.7 (1999) - offered as lot 203 at the Artcurial Rétromobile auction on February 5, 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo SV (1997) - as lot 134 at the Bonhams Goodwood Revival Auction on September 10, 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo VT (1993) - as lot 149 at the RM/Sotheby's London auction on September 7, 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo (1999) - at the Autostadt stand - Techno Classica 2016

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70 years of rear-end design - from the Bentley of the 1920s to the Bugatti 35 and the Lamborghini Diablo - seen at the Techno Classica 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo Strosek (1994) - not sold - at the Dolder auction of the Oldtimer Gallery on June 11, 2016

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Lamborghini Diablo Strosek (1994) - blue inside and out - at the Dolder auction of the Oldtimer Gallery on June 11, 2016

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Summary

With the Lamborghini Diablo, the manufacturer from Sant'Agata built the sports car to beat in the 1990s. As a VT, the fast wedge even had all-wheel drive. The mid-engined sports car designed by Gandini was built for 11 years until it was replaced by the Murcielago. This report tells the story of the Diablo and describes driving impressions with the four-wheel drive VT, supplemented by current and contemporary pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

From Mimran to Chrysler
Presentation in 1990
A bull named Diablo as namesake
Further development of the Countach theme
Continuous evolution
More open, more powerful and faster
The ride in the super sports car
For trained calves
Further information

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

A super sports car with four-wheel drive was still exotic at the beginning of the 1990s. Although Porsche had already set the trend with the 959, it was still common for a sports car to be rear-wheel drive at that time. Lamborghini, however, presented the Diablo VT in 1991, and all-wheel drive appeared to be an effective means of making the "fastest production sports car in the world", as the manufacturer confidently described it, a little more manageable. Lamborghini could already look back on a long and eventful history when the Diablo was launched in 1990. Founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini, the company had catapulted itself into the super sports car Olympus in just a few years with the 350 GT, 400 GT and, in particular, the Miura. The edgy Countach, which replaced the Miura, was another milestone in 1971 and remained in production for almost 20 years.

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